Fan Tribes and Brand Titans:The Role of Social Identity in Building Brand Equity inFenerbahce S.K. and Panathinaikos B.C. Fan Groups

Purpose –Thisstudy aimed to measure the effect of the social identities of Fenerbahçe and Panathinaikos basketball fan groups on their teams’ brand value.Design/methodology/approach –For this purpose, a survey was administered to a total of 500 fans—250 from each club. The questionnaire employed the scale developed by Watkins (2014), which was derived by synthesizing scales used in previous studies. The scale was essentially constructed based on the SIBE model. The data obtained from the survey were transferred to IBM SPSS 25.0 for classification and analysis. Regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses.Results–It was found that fans’ support for their teams—both in the stands and through media channels—positively affects the clubs’ recognition.Discussion –The analyses revealed that fans’ social identities play an important role in creating brand value. It was concluded that fans attending games or supporting their teams in front of the TV positively influence the clubs’ visibility and awareness.